Is this it?
by jxmelee
Summary: Story revolves mostly around Hermione and the drama in her life and heart. This is the last year at Hogwarts, is everything going to stay same as the previous 6? HGDM and kinda anti-GW. Rated M, JIC... ON HOLD while I work on something less lame.
1. The Last Meal

** Here's the very beginning AN.**

**This story should include some teenage angst, a touch of drama, and of course romance- though it won't always be fluffy. No adventure and stuff involving the war, I'm no good at that kind of thing. Sexual content will be here and there, but very mild.**

**Overall, this is not cannon of HBP and DH. Some things are, but most things aren't, if that makes any sense. Don't hold me to either.**

**Also, give me a break as I've never tried writing someone else's characters before. I've just… fallen in love with these HP fics. And Dramione.**

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**Chapter 1.**

"I'm starving!"

"Shut your trap, you're always starving."

"Oh, please do be careful with that platter!"

"...And then, oh, wait until you hear what happens after that..."

"I swear, there must have been a hundred light bulbs, nearly as many outlets and plugs, and there more of those spark plugs than I've ever seen! And did I tell you about the jumper cables? Well apparently…"

"…well, lets just say she's not a beautiful blonde any longer."

"Well, no, um… err… I'm uhh… not too concerned about that at this time…"

"Where am _I_ supposed to sit?

"Finally! Here comes the food! I haven't eaten in hours!"

"Exploding toothpick, anybody?"

"Earth to Hermione!" A hand waved in front of Hermione Granger's face. The hand of her famous best friend, Harry Potter, to be exact.

She smiled and shook her head quickly, as if to erase her mind, before flashing him a quick smile. "Oh, hi Harry. I'm fine. Just off in my own little world." She had just now been staring straight ahead and listening to the chaos of dinner hour at the Weasley's burrow. She wanted to take it all in and savor it; she wanted to keep this special part of her life close to her heart, being that this was the last meal they would eat together before boarding the Hogwart's express for the final time. And deep down, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be seeing much of this crowd after leaving Hogwarts.

So many _lasts…_It may be just another year at Hogwarts, but it's the _last_. The final start-of-term feast. The last sorting hat song she would ever hear. The very last exams she would be taking. The conclusion to all her hard work over the years. And at the moment she was about to have her final dinner with those who have been a second family to her.

This transition also made her wonder what she had accomplished over the past 6 years. Top in her class was definitely something to be proud of, but what else? She felt like something was missing from her entire school experience. I mean, was this it? You go for 7 years, get nearly straight O's, then graduate and leave it all behind?

She sighed out loud, and Harry glanced over with a slightly concerned expression. Before she could say a word, a bowl of potatoes was passed his way and he began serving himself. He was probably starving too, just not so much as to make a scene about it like some people here…

Glancing over Ron's way as she thought of him, she caught him staring at her, and he smiled awkwardly and looked down at the food, which he would normally be shoveling into his mouth. I _Why has he been looking at me like that lately? What is UP with him/u _Sure she had changed drastically since her 5th year, and still more since the 6th, but what was with all the gawking? She didn't know how to handle it. I _It's RON, for Merlin's sake/I _

She looked around a bit more, and absolutely nothing else was out of the ordinary. It was just a lovely dinner with a lovely family, as far as she was concerned. She smiled at Harry when he asked if she planned on eating tonight, and he proceeded to dish some out onto her plate for her.

_Somehow_… she thought, trying to conclude her jumbled thoughts, _this year needs to be different. It needs to be special. It's the last one…_

* * *

Ginny watched Harry serving Hermione part of her dinner and held back from letting a scowl cross her face. She liked Hermione well enough, sure. She was a nice girl, great to talk to, and it doesn't hurt that she happens to be best friends with the love of her own life. 

But honestly, Ginny just did not understand what was so special about Hermione. Yes, she was smart and easy to copy notes and assignments off of. Yeah, her body had become pretty okay over the past couple years. However, Ginny felt that she personally had more fashion and beauty sense in her left pinky toe than Hermione had ever dreamed of having in her whole being. Her clothes were drab and plain. She never seemed to even attempt to make her hair look decent, let alone pretty. And who knows if she has ever even heard of makeup. Any guy would notice Ginny over Hermione.

That is, except for the one who matters. It's always all about Hermione, when it comes to Harry. Every time Harry did anything; be it going out somewhere with friends, or saving the world again, he always chose Hermione to be by his side. Ginny always wanted to be involved but it was always I _"No, you're too young" /I. _or some other lame excuse to take Hermione instead.

She shoved some food into her mouth and chewed ferociously to try to calm her nerves. Meanwhile she looked around and her eyes landed on her very own brother gawking like a schoolboy at no one other than Hermione. _What is so damn special about that woman? _She felt like she was going to be sick.

"I need to be excused," she blurted out. She got up and left the table, hustling to her bedroom and shutting the door behind her. She lay across her bed and threw a pillow over her face.

_ This year is going to be different. They'll all see._

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Meanwhile, a dinner was going on in a much larger home, with a much smaller family. Well, sort of. Draco Malfoy was sitting in his father's mansion, at his father's crystal-topped dining table that seated twelve, eating his own dinner. He was sitting all by himself. 

He picked at his food with one of the gold-crested, sterling silver forks that his mother had insisted that his father buy for their home. For what reason they needed such expensive cutlery is beyond fathoming. It's not as if the type of… friends… that his parents hung around were the type that you'd invite over for dinner parties.

Oh yes, though, being part of the richest pure-blood family around sure had its upsides. At least he wasn't poor. At least he wasn't a Mudblood. Everyone feared his very name. And that was, after all, any wizard needed to be successful in life. Pure blood, money, and power. That's all he needs. He's been told time and time again that he's going to be _somebody _because of these things.

He entered his 1st year at Hogwarts with this mindset. He is _somebody_, he is _greater _than all the other students. But who got all the attention and fame and respect? Who got all the friends? That Golden Trio, of course. But what do they have on him, a Malfoy? Well, the Potter hero had sheer luck and a dose of "love," apparently. The Granger girl had brains. Their Weasel sidekick had a large lovey-dovey family.

_ There is nothing special about them. They have nothing on me, I'm Draco Malfoy! _

He put his fork down and ran his fingers through his silky blonde hair before resting his chin in his hand and letting out a deep sigh.

_ Yeah, they've got nothing…Except that they're happy. _

Draco looked at the clock. A mere 14 hours before the train leaves platform 9 and three quarters. Then he'd be back in that school. Surrounded by mediocre excuses for wizards and nothing better to do than put off homework assignments and gab about how wealthy and special he is. God's gift to Hogwart's school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he acted like. And he knew that this was his attitude. This was where success, as in happiness, came from. Right?

Another sigh, and a secret promise stirred within him. _This year will be different. I will find some sort of happiness in my life if my reputation depends on it. After all, this is the last chance. Its the last year…_

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**AN: I'm not expecting much reaction yet. It's just the intro chapter. Chapter two coming in two days or less.**


	2. The Last Hogwart's Express

The Hogwart's express was well on it's way, yet there was still a great bustle about the train as students were greeting one another with a hug or with a "hey you!" from across the way. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were together at the moment, as her Head Girl's duties didn't completely hinder her from having a social life. Even if her social life did consist of sitting near her friends while she read something that would definitely be beneficial to her as a person.

"I can't believe it," Harry said out of the blue.

"Hmm?" Hermione looked up from a manual with the Hogwart's shield on the cover. It was called, _So you're head boy/girl. What now?_

"This is it," he replied. "The last year I'm going to spend at my real home."

Hermione didn't say a word. She had been thinking about this being their last year, but never once had the sympathy to think of what it might be like for those who have no life outside of Hogwarts. She had her family and a bright future free of dark wizards trying to kill her at every turn. What did Harry have? _Hogwarts,_She thought. Harry had Hogwarts… _And he has me! He has me, doesn't he? We've always been friends. We always will be._

She was about to say something to him, when Ron opened his mouth first. "There's always my home, mate."

"Yeah," replied Harry. "We'll see." And with that he turned back to the window, not wanting to talk about it any longer.

This was going to be one long, quiet train ride. The three didn't seem to keen to talk in this dim mood. And it wasn't even the _end_ of the year yet.

Hermione glanced over to Harry quickly, who was resting his head on the window in a daze, before she turned her eyes back to her manual. Her eyes, however, were not focused on the words before her. Instead, she was thinking about what Harry had said, on top of her own wondering what she was going to do to make this year special. Before she could even organize her thoughts, she could nearly feel the burn of eyes on her skin. She knew Ron was staring again. _Again!_This seriously was starting to irritate her. She couldn't be in the same room as him without him checking her out. She may as well just be naked in front of him, the way he stares.

Hermione shut her book and looked up. "Honestly, Ron," she said before she even thought about her words "I think you should just take a picture and let me be for a while!"

Harry's head swung around to see what was going on, and Ron looked quite taken aback by Hermione's sudden words. She knew she was kind of out of line to have jumped all over him like that, but she felt the need to get out of the heavy atmosphere within the compartment, anyway. This was a great reason to leave.

"I'm going to go see what's going on in the corridors." With this, she got up and hurriedly left the compartment.

* * *

The train seemed to have calmed down significantly. Most of the students were done with their greetings and were settled in with their closest friends and cliques within the train compartments. _Good,_Hermione thought, _it will be much easier to make sure everyone is behaving if they're not running all over the place. _She also just realized that she had seen very few of the prefects, and had yet to find out who the new ones were; as well as who the new Head Boy was. She wasn't too concerned, for the staff always chose wisely.

She peeked into a couple of the compartments, one after the next. As she exited one of them, she didn't look where she was going before turning to the left and taking a step. She found herself walking into somebody and dropping her Head Girl's manual.

She bent over to pick it up and arose to find herself face-to-face with none other than a shiny Head Boy's badge. She turned her head up slightly, but rather slowly, to face the wearer of this badge; but by the green accents of his robes, she knew who it was before she even looked.

_Malfoy?_She thought with a glare on her face, _I have to work with him? Everyone knows he despises my very existence! What were they thinking? Malfoy! _She stared straight ahead in his direction as she was having this mental rant. She didn't move a muscle, and neither did she. She did notice Pansy Parkinson run up from behind Draco and grab his arm, clinging to him as if afraid he was going to run away. Still, Hermione stared at that badge, silently furious that this was the best they could come up with for her teammate in leadership.

"Would you like to take a picture Granger?" He finally said, "I know this badge is very becoming on me, but I'd prefer to not be gawked at by… _your _kind," He spat out the insult as if speaking it was as dirty as her very blood itself. Pansy smirked as if to say "_Yeah, he's mine." _She was proud of him. Good catch, Pansy, really.

"Well," Hermione said in a snotty tone, without really thinking first, "I'd rather not _gawk_ at you, but as chances have it, I'm the Head Girl, and we're going to be forced to look at one another as we work… _together_."

He eyed her up and down with that infamous Malfoy scowl. "Not much to look at even if you weren't a filthy Mudblood." And with this he walked away, and Pansy quickly followed.

* * *

Hermione made her way back toward the compartment to sit with Ron and Harry, trying to blow off her confrontation with Malfoy. After all, no ride to Hogwarts seemed to be complete without running into him. It happens every year, its inevitable. But shrugging it off was not so easy, not with the knowledge that she would be spending the entire year working _with_him. And that's not even to mention sharing a common room with him. He'd probably have his slut of a girlfriend, or whatever he called her, in his room every chance he got. She couldn't help but allow her face to contort into a sickened scowl over this thought. _That's simply disgusting. _

This year was supposed to be different, even better somehow. How was she supposed to do that spending so much time around someone with whom she shared a mutual loathing?

She was walking rather slowly, keeping her eyes and ears open despite her thoughts. After all, someone with responsibility needs to know what is going on around her at all times. Besides, it was distracting her from her own despiciable thoughts at the moment.

She saw Luna and Neville looking at some sort of triangular or pyramid shaped contraption; it looked as if it were wooden, with some sort of metal around the edges, and even what looked like some sort of seaweed dangling off of it. She was speaking animatedly about what happens if you hang the Rorrdaggle in the window of somebody you really care about. Hermione kept moving, not wanting to be dragged into a spiel about something out of _The Quibbler, _or something.

This was probably the most interesting thing she witnessed on her way back. Mostly there were just people talking about Quidditch, their teachers, or who was dating who now that the summer holiday was over. Nothing too interesting, and nothing that concerned her at all.

She was nearly back to her compartment. She could hear Ron and Harry's voices, but had no idea what they were saying yet. As she got closer, she couldn't help but eavesdrop a bit. It's not like they ever get to talk guy-on-guy when she's around…

"…really don't feel comfortable with that, Ron."

"But she'd listen to you. She likes you better, and you know it!"

"That is completely different and _you_know it. It would mean a lot to her if you did it, you can't leave her on her own like that."

Hermione listened, rather intrigued, but worried. They weren't talking about her, were they?

"…But she _likes _you, Harry!"

"I'm not into her. Now drop it, and decide if you're going to do it for her or not. If not, then she'll probably never have another chance."

"Yeah. Alright."

It sounded like Ron and Harry both were left silent at this. Hermione awkwardly entered. "Did I miss anything?" she asked.

"Not really," Ron replied. "Anything interesting going on out there?" His tone of voice implied that he was really looking for some conversation with her. No one could blame him, they haven't talked properly in days.

"No," Hermione replied, "Unless you have ever wanted someone to hang a rorrdaggle in your window." She sat down and opened her manual again. _I'm going to need a lot more than a few simple guidelines to work with Draco Malfoy, _She thought.

Ron was left with a forced, sad, smile on his face as he went to get his school robes out so he could change out of his muggle attire. Hermione just felt too awkward around him lately, as he had been around her. She didn't want to hurt her friend, and hoped that they weren't talking about her earlier when she eavesdropped. But who else would they be talking about?

She _did _in fact get the strong impression that Ron liked her. And he thought she liked Harry? She glanced at him. _Well, he's cute enough. And a great friend… but… _

But what? Everyone always thought it would be Harry she should be dating, could she blame Ron for thinking the same? But Harry said he wasn't into her. Well, why not? _What's wrong with me that Harry finds me so unappealing? _She wondered in the very back of her mind. But he could just be saying that as so not to hurt Ron, who likes her. But he had said that she can't be left on her own, this may be her "last chance." Last chance at what? Did they think she was so pathetic that they were the only ones who would ever like her?

She wanted to sigh, but she didn't want to attract their attention. She didn't know how to handle Ron's feelings for her, and she was strangely hurt that Harry had said such things about her. Then there was always her working with Draco situation, which she didn't even want to think on until she had to.

She dove back into her manual, this time actually taking it in. And for some reason, she really didn't want to talk to her friends right now. They caught the hint when she ignored everything they said to her all the way to Hogwarts.

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**There's chapter 2. Sorry about the random errors, I'm working on them but seem to miss them when I proofread. You know how it is to try to re-read your own work. You read it your way and don't think about anyone else. **

**Anyway, let me know what you think, if you'd like- but honestly, you have noooooooooo idea yet. Beginnings are always slow.**

** Until next time! **


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